Rideshare app helps busy Indy-area parents this summer

INDIANAPOLIS — A rideshare app is combating the ongoing bus driver shortage here in Central Indiana.

HopSkipDrive is helping families in Indianapolis connect their children and older adults with safe, reliable transportation, even during the summer months.

Getting your child to summer school, camp or other activities can be stressful for working parents.

HopSkipDrive can offer a solution.

“There is a huge need for safe, reliable transportation. In the summer, parents are working. They need rides for summer camp, they need rides to the pool," Director of Communications Cindy Hamilton said.

Hamilton says what sets the platform apart is its focus on safety.

The app uses a multi-factor verification system — including birthdays, names, and code words, for an added layer of security before beginning the ride.

“When a care driver arrives to the house, they will provide that code-word as an authentication process as well as the birthday when the ride begins the parent will receive all the information they can track it in real time and be aware of everything that is happening," Hamilton said.

Of the 1.2 million rides given last year, 99.7 percent of them ended without a safety incident.

CareDrivers are highly vetted before hire.

They must go through a 15 point certification process — including background checks and child abuse screenings— and have five years of care-giving experience.

It’s something that drew Alfonso Passariello to drive for the platform.

“I like the no stress I mean, I enjoy them. I enjoy talking with them. I enjoy interacting with them sometimes I have teenagers in my car and I use that moment to mentor to them," Passariello said.

Passariello has years of experience working with special needs children and says he’s happy to provide a space for them to feel safe on their way to school.

“I enjoy picking them up every morning because it gets my day off to a nice start," Passariello said.

HopSkipDrive partners with more than 600 school districts, nonprofits and government agencies.

The goal is to solve the biggest transportation challenges facing school districts, including budget cuts, bus driver shortages, and reaching climate goals.

“Chronic absenteeism is a crisis in Indianapolis and across the country. If you can’t get to school, you can’t stay in school," Hamilton said.

Some local schools HopSkipDrive partners with are Franklin Township, Brownsburg Community and SENSE Charter School.

Families can get $10 off a ride with promo code SUMMER2024.